The further and continuing adventures of the girl who sat in the back of your homeroom, reading and daydreaming.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Interesting Elections

I was pleased at the gubernatorial outcomes in Virginia and -- of all places! -- New Jersey, of course, but the one I'm still examining is NY 23.

A third-party candidate very nearly won; reports have the Owens - Hoffman race at 49%/45%, with 5 percent -- just enough to turn the tables -- going the Republican candidate who withdrew (and endorsed her Democrat opponent, which should tell you just about everything you need to know about the Parties of Treason, or at least most of the candidates they run: they're often as different as a left and right jackboot and when push comes to shove, they stand together). There are lessons to be learned there and I hope people are paying attention.

As a once-and-future professional political type, on occasion, I've got to remind folks about local races. Rarely are hordes of outside activists welcomed. Ya gotta know the local personalities involved.

See also the Maine ballot initiative on gay marriage/defense of traditional marriage - depending on where you stand. It's how Virginia got the state constitutional amendment it has currently.

Candidates and office holders need to stand for something. You say what you mean, and you mean what you say. Generally, in public speaking, "Blessed are the brief, for they shall be re-elected." You explain who you are, and why you're running and you treat your constituents like they're adult human beings. It's about respect, both for the office you're seeking, and the folks you're representing.

E.B., it's not a football game, you know; simply getting a player wearing the proper red or blue uniform doesn't mean much if the heart of the their philosophy belongs to the other side -- or, worse yet, if there is nothing at their core but pure self-serving pragmatism -- I count 'em as Bad Guys, no matter what their party.

The R in NY 23 was about ready to switch parties. The reflexive Republican voters (not to worry, the Democrats have 'em too) were not gonna vote for anyone who did not have the magic "R" after their name; and that plus absentee ballots were the margin of victory for the Democrat.

If you happen to believe the two-party system is outmoded and a poor model of the electorate, that a third-party candidate did so well is, indeed, a good thing. As for the R vs. D outcome, better a forthright opponent than a snake in the grass. (Plus, as Sam points out, Owens has a good NRA rating....)

"Friends in the Finger Lake district tell me the Repubs would screw up a one car funeral."

Sounds like Ahiya, Stranger. Here the zombie RINO leadership is trotting out Mike DeWine to contest the primary for attorney general. The Democrat governor and Democrat incumbent attorney general are both significantly better on gunowner rights than DeWhine. If that clown gets the nomination, I'm putting a Richard Cordray sign in my yard.

In NY23, you had a virtual unknown (nobody had heard of the guy until about a month ago) who didn't even live in the district, a HEAVILY funded Democratic campaign that didn;t have to deal with teh bitterness of what (on the Republican/Conservative side) was effectively a primary campaign held days before the general election, 5% of the vote went to the Republican who had already dropped out, and the Conservative candidate STILL only lost by 3%.

While it's not a win for Republicans, it's STILL not a good sign for the Democrats.

What NY23 showed was that nominating a left moderate RINO is a losing strategy. Which is why primaries (instead of the figurative "smoke filled room" of a causcus that selected the RINO to begin with) when you don;t have an incumbant running on your ticket are a good idea.

"I saw to what extent the people among whom I lived could be trusted as good neighbors and friends; that their friendship was for summer weather only; that they did not greatly propose to do right; that they were a distinct race from me by their prejudices and superstitions."